Thornberry now calm at Classic despite early struggles
Braden Thornberry was greeted at the first hole by an ovation from a small crowd littered with navy blue and red shirts and hats. The Ole Miss senior-to-be drove 296 feet into the left rough, but recovered and scored a birdie.
“Get in there!” someone from the crowd shouted as the ball crept toward the hole before rolling in. Claps and cheers erupted from the group, while Thornberry merely gave a small wave.
The up-and-down hole was representative of Thornberry’s day, as he went on to score a 3-over 73 in the first round at the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind on Thursday. Despite making three bogeys and a double bogey, he never overtly expressed his frustration.
“When he’s at home he’s a lot more animated than he is on the course,” said Veronica Thornberry, Braden’s mother. “He tries to keep everything very even-keeled when he’s playing.”
Thornberry credited Ole Miss sports psychologist Josie Nicholson with helping him along the way but noted that experience is the best
teacher. “There’s gonna be times that you make bogeys and doubles, but try not to let it come from mental mistakes,” he said.
The Olive Branch native and No. 2ranked amateur in the world will have a chance to improve on his performance in the second round on Friday. While this is Thornberry’s second FESJC appearance, his history with the course goes much further back.
He shot a 61 at TPC Southwind in the ninth grade, and he often attended the tournament growing up before winning 11 individual titles at Ole Miss, including the 2017 NCAA championship.
Among those at Thursday’s tournament was Thornberry’s maternal grandmother, Lin Winkler, who used to take him to Mirimichi Golf Course in Millington every year. Whenever his parents weren’t able to take him to a tournament, she and her husband took on the task, and they still travel with him.
“We’ve barely missed a tournament no matter where he was,” Winkler said. “It’s so exciting and so nerve-racking, but it’s just so much fun.”
Thornberry became interested in golf because of his dad, and his mother would drop him off at the golf course on her way to work. From there he fell in love with the game, became enamored with improving, and made lifelong friends.
Ross Redmont, one of those friends, was in the crowd on Thursday. The UT Martin golfer met Thornberry in the eighth grade when they both played at the Memphis National Golf Club.
At a junior tournament years ago, Redmont found himself getting pretty excited after shooting “2 or 3-under.” When he checked the leaderboard, however, he was shocked. Thornberry had shot a 61 and led by 7. “I was like, ‘You’re unbelievable,’” Redmont said.
It’s been a big week for Thornberry, who qualified for the U.S. Open on Monday. “(Playing in the U.S. Open) is one of those things that (whether) you play good or bad doesn’t really matter, you get home and you’re like, ‘Wow, that was a really cool experience,’” Thornberry said. “When I’m playing here I don’t have time to think about it, but it’s pretty special.”
Why hasn’t Thornberry turned pro? For him, the timing simply isn’t right.
“What me and (Ole Miss) coach (Chris) Malloy have talked about is, ‘What makes our path the longest?’” he said. “We want to have a lot of different opportunities coming up and not rush any decisions.”